This is a review on a small range of skincare products that I was given to try for 2 days. This was a horrific experience which I felt I had to share to prevent anyone else from making the same mistake as me and to also get the word out there that Arbonne is not what it seems.
Everything I am writing on here is 100% true and I have not exaggerated anything. I will quote what the independent consultant advised me when talking about Arbonne products in addition to quoting what the website says. Please note that I spoke to the consultant through Facebook and by texts so I have the exact wording of what the consultant said.
How I was approached
An independent consultant from Arbonne contacted me on Facebook having seen my blog post on NYX and asked if I wanted to try some Arbonne products. The consultant's exact words are as follows: "I was wondering if I gave you some products to try would you consider writing a blog if you like them? I know you have just bought quite a few but these are a step above the rest and would love for people to hear about them." I said yes to the consultant as I love to try new products to find the best products for my skin but this was an experience I will never forget. The consultant also advised me that the products are "ahead of everything else out there".... just carry on reading and decide for yourself what you think..
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| At first glance, these products look good but they are overpriced and do not do what the products claim to do, These products have ruined my skin by leaving the worst allergic reaction that I cannot put anything on my face now without it stinging and my skin is super dry and scaly because the products have taken all the natural oils out of my face. |
About Arbonne
For those of you who have not heard of Arbonne like myself at the time, Arbonne works very much like Avon and Mary Kay cosmetics. This is referred to as "network marketing" where independent consultants promote and attempt to sell the products to their family and friends and to persuade members of their family and friends to sign up to be a consultant like themselves so they earn commission on the sales they make in addition to commission from sales their friends and family make. If I had done my research before agreeing to try the products, I would not be in this position. I only had a quick look at their website and ignored everything else on the internet as I did not have time to do heavy research around the company and to look at reviews. I wish I had done though because these products have now ruined my skin and gave me a severe allergic reaction which has still not cleared up or got any better and tomorrow will be a week since I last used those products which I will NEVER use again.
Having had this horrific experience, I did my research on Arbonne and on their website it says the following: "We're taking pure, safe and beneficial to the next level through our efforts to match the purity of our ingredients with the earth friendliness of our packaging". The products are not pure and safe if this happened to me and others. Please note that Arbonne do not have much information about their products and that you have to dig deep to find any information about the brand. I have read so many reviews that people have posted about Arbonne and they too want to reach out to let people know of their experience.
My experience
The list of products I was given to try:
- Seasource Detox Spa - renewing body gelee £33
- It's a long story mascara £25
- Seasource Detox Spa - foaming sea salt scrub £25
- Calm Gentle Daily Ceanser £17
- Makeup Primer £26
- Calm Soothing Eye Gel £23
- Calm Soothing Facial Serum £35
- Calm Gentle Daily Moisturizer £26
The Calm range
I will quote what the website says about this Calm range: "Clinically tested, Calm is formulated to help provide hydrating relief from tightness, dryness and discomfort. With 80% food grade ingredients, these extra gentle formulas help calm and sooth sensitive skin that is easily irritated." The next bit shocked me as you will see if you carry on reading what happened to my skin having used this whole range.. "Non comedogenic, fragrance free, colourant free, and allergy and dermatologist tested, Calm has soothing botanicals to nurture and moisturise without blocking pores." These products did the complete opposite... the description is not even close to being accurate and I am shocked that the products are claiming to do these things.
Upon applying these products to my face, it began to burn and redden. I could not stand the feeling and had to take it off instantly. I developed irritant contact dermatitis from these products which is when something damages your skin. My skin was burning/stinging, itchy and was so red and sore where I used the products which was all over my face. I am someone who does not get spots often nor do I get allergic reactions from trying products. I have tried a lot of products in my lifetime and I can say that this experience was the worst. The products have left me with a severe allergic reaction that I still have after 6 days of trying the products and I cannot see this clearing up anytime soon. My skin is dry and scaly and it is so dry that I cannot smile. My face stings when putting on the products I use normally (not Arbonne products) and this has never happened before. Even applying vaseline twice a day does not help my skin get hydrated enough. My skin combination is not dry, it is normally oily but the products have taken all the natural oils out of my face.
The funny thing is that on the website, there are no ingredients listed for their products. Apparently, it is so other companies will not copy the formulas. Seriously, who would even want to copy the formulas of these products which leave you with a severe allergic reaction, red raw skin and dry scaly skin. I am clearly not the only one who experienced this as I have read so many reviews and my sister also got her own set of products to try and she too got the same allergic reaction as me.
More about Arbonne and their consultants
The other thing I cannot quite believe is that Arbonne keeps using the words pure, natural, simple, green and healthy and keep going on about minimising their impact on the earth. Arbonne products contain such varied substances such as hydrogenated castor oil,sunflower, canola and safflower which are not certified to be GMO free. There are so many ingredients used in each product which make the products seem so complicated to create yet they could easily simplify the products.
Arbonne consultants will most likely not have any prior education in cosmetology and will not know the answers to the questions you will be asking them. I found that the consultant I was speaking with was exaggerating what the products claim to do when really they did the complete opposite. The consultant was over enthusiastic about the products but both my sister and I felt he was only like this because he was trying to get a sale out of us. The consultant's performance was exceptionally poor and only replied to my messages when the consultant thought they may get a sale.
I text the consultant to tell them what had happened to my skin and I have still not received a reply. This shows that the consultant is unprofessional and solely only interested in making money and not caring about the company's brand and reputation. I was shocked to not even receive an acknowledgement in the form of a message, let alone an apology. I have therefore contacted Arbonne to let them know my horrific experience. I have not heard back from Arbonne yet but I am expecting to hear back from them to see what they say.
Other products I tried
I have to admit that the other products I tried were nothing special. The mascara was just like what you would get in the high street, not worth the money whatsoever. The Seasource stuff too was nothing special.
Summary
I was not impressed by the products and my experience with Arbonne was horrendous. I do not think anyone should go through the same experience as I did. The consultants at Arbonne clearly do not know everything about the products and probably do not know all the ingredients used in the products. I requested to try products for my skin type, combination and also to try products which are for sensitive skin. Like I said earlier, I am not someone who gets spots all the time and also it is very rare for me to get allergic reactions from products. I have tried hundreds of products and never have I had an experience like this before. My skin is still suffering the consequences of trying these horrific products and I recommend that in the future, if you want to try products out, to really research the background of the brand and its products. I made a big mistake by not researching and believing everything the consultant told me. It was clearly just so they could try and make a sale. If the consultant really cared about the user of the products and about the brand and its reputation, I would have received a reply to the text I sent. I am absolutely shocked at how awful the products are and the reaction my skin had to these products. Finally, I was told that I could join the Arbonne team and was told to tell my friends and family about this brand. There is no way I will ever join Arbonne and I will definitely tell my friends and family about how bad this brand is.
Please warn all your friends and family about this brand and to avoid this happening to you or your friends and family. The brand is not what it seems.
Quick Update
I contacted Arbonne on Friday 10 October. I didn't hear from them so I contacted them again on Monday 13 October and stressed that they should get in contact with me ASAP seeing as this is such a serious case regarding their products and my skin. I specifically told them to NOT contact me during my work hours and gave them the times to call me if they really needed to. I asked that they contact me via email so we could arrange a time for a call. Of course, Arbonne contacted me during my work hours and I didn't pick up the phone seeing as I was at work so they left a message which was incredibly unclear. I tried to call them back but after holding for 20 minutes, my call was dropped.... I've not heard back from them since and I submitted a third complaint to them. On the website, it says: "A Field Support representative will contact you within 24 hours." Clearly this is a lie if I have not heard back from them... I am very disappointed with this company. They clearly don't care that their products have caused so much damage to people's faces and clearly don't care about their brand's reputation. This is a horrendous company and from just reading around the website, the word SCAM comes up so often. So many people have said they have been scammed by this company and how it lures people into the company to work for them as consultants and that they have to spend £xxx amount which is usually around £200 so they have the products and then they get xxx amount free. Arbonne has ruined many lives by luring people into the company to work for them and the consultants have to work so hard to make such little amount of money. They also have to exaggerate what the products to do try and get a sale and obviously p*ss off a lot of their family and friends at the same time by trying to force them to buy something and make them become consultants too, I don't know how this company has got away with this for so long but people need to know what this company is like.
Seriously, do yourself a favour and stay away from this brand and all its promises and lies. It is all FAKE.
We were greeted by two members of staff on arrival and sat us down. The tables at Flat Iron are really small and you do have to share with strangers. When we sat down, we were immediately given a big glass of tap water and a complimentary cup of popcorn. Also, a girl asked if we had been to Flat Iron before in which we answered yes. She went on to tell us about the special of the day which was a more expensive piece of steak but at this point, my sister and I knew we wanted to have the standard Flat Iron steak. If you have never been to Flat Iron before, the staff would describe the steak to you and where it comes from. Seeing as my sister and I waited over an hour for our food and we were so hungry at this point, we weren't really interested in the special of the day and we just wanted to order our food and eat it. Finally, after about 10 minutes, I raised my hand to get the attention of the staff seeing as they weren't very attentive and we wanted to order our food.
The service was pretty quick and we received our steak after around 7 minutes. The steak was beautifully presented and looked very appetising. One thing I would point out is that the portion sizes are very small. Anyway, my sister and I ordered chips which were so delicious and crispy. My sister thought that the chips were a little too crispy but I on the other hand thought it was perfect. The steak was so delicious and I just could not stop eating! The food was gone within about 15 minutes because it was just so good!! My sister thought the steak was a little too salty for her but I thought it blended in well with the steak.
